The SDFWA Member Shop is dedicated to providing a safe environment for fellow woodworkers to practice their skills and improve their craft. Safety in the Member Shop is our number one priority. By encouraging safe practices in the Member Shop we will be able to provide a space in which all our members can comfortably and safely work, learn, and make sawdust.

Safety Pre-Test

Each member will take a Safety Pre-Test prior to attending the Safety Orientation Brief. The answers to the test will be reviewed in the Safety Orientation and any incorrect responses will be discussed as a group. The Safety Orientation will discuss safe practices and shop procedures that each member will be expected to follow. Upon completion of the Safety Orientation, each member will then demonstrate their skills through a Hands On Safety Test (HOST) Certification under the guidance of a HOST Coach. After successfully passing the HOST Certification the member will be granted their Member Shop ID Badge. This badge will indicate which tool groups they are certified to use.

Introduction to Laser Cutter - In this single class you'll learn the process of going from design-to-cutting/etching. Better still, you'll practice the procedure several times and even produce your own first project. This single class is enough to certify you to use the laser.

NEW! - A Systematic Approach To Wood Finishing - Finishing is part art and part science. When you understand the fundamentals of wood technology, the steps involved in finishing, the products used, how to create finishing test pieces, and how to approach wood finishing as a problem solving activity, the likelihood of a successful outcome increases dramatically.

NEW! - Shaker Oval Box Making - Phil Stivers has taught, for several years, woodbending and in particular Shaker Oval Box making at Palomar College. This class in oval box making will be the first time it has been offered in 2 years. Phil has studied oval box making at the workshop of the Dean of Box Making, John Wilson in Michigan, and our provider of box making material. The class will involve learning the various steps of oval box making, as well as experiencing hot water woodbending challenges. For this class each participant will make 3 oval boxes. Registration $250 for this 2 day course.

NEW! - Wood Turning Part 2 - Pen Turning will cover basic safety considerations, the various tools used in pen turning, an examination of the various tool kits, selection and preparation of the pen blanks, fitting the blanks to the hardware, selection of accessory pen construction elements, assembly of the pen using a jig, and various steps in finishing the pen.

NEW! - Bench Hand Plane Restoration - Bring a handplane(s) to work on. If you don't have a plane needing restoring we might be able to loan one to you for the class, contact us separately prior to the class.

Introduction to Woodworking Part 1- This series of classes is specifically design for the person that has not worked with wood to any extent or for the person that has been away from wood for a long time and do not feel comfortable with using power tools.

Bird Mouth Joinery - Bird mouth is an edge joinery method where you can quickly and easily assemble multi-sided containers of 6 to 16 sides from flat wooden staves. In this class the student will build two different projects using this intriguing technique.

Jigs for Box Making (and other woodworking operations) - This class is a prerequisite to a box making class. It does not make sense to go forward with box making without good jigs. In this case, a table saw miter sled with a lot of features to ensure clean accurate and repeatable cuts and a jig for cutting the slots on the corners of a mitered box to add decorative slip-feathers

Chip Carving- Chip carving is a great way to begin woodcarving. For those already acquainted with carving, much can be learned from the design and discipline chip carving has to offer. The tools required are few - two knives - layout tools, sharpening stones, and the results are attractively decorative.

Sketchup- Jerry Beaudry will bring the world of computer graphics to a level that you can understand. This class will focus on the Basic and intermediate steps needed so you can design a piece of furniture or cabinetry.